The best condiments in the world right now

Ajvar

Ajvar is a mushy relish that is very popular in The Balkans. It is principally comprised of red bell peppers, eggplant (aubergine), garlic and chili pepper. The main ingredients are both baked and stewed, which makes creating Ajvar quite a laborious and time-consuming process.

Currywurst. Photo by author.

Currywurst Sauce

This is the most important ingredient in one of the most popular and delicious fast foods in Germany – currywurst. While you can buy it bottled at most stores in Germany, it’s pretty simple to make this famous wurst topping, which consists of ketchup dosed with curry powder and paprika.

Salsa Lizano

A staple of all Costa Rican kitchens, Lizano is a slightly sweet condiment that packs a spicy punch, given the inclusion of turmeric, pepper and mustard. It would also appear to be quite addictive – threads of foodie message boards are filled with desperate cooks looking for a place to find a bottle in their country.

Chutney

Types of chutney are as varied as are the regions in India that they originate from. Among the more popular are mango, tamarind and peanunt/red chili. Other concoctions can include ingredients like beetroot, shrimp, curry leaf and eggplant.

Pebre

Still a bit of a traveler’s secret, eyes go glassy when this Chilean condiment is discussed. The recipe says it all – coriander, chopped onion, olive oil, garlic and ground or pureed spicy aji peppers. It’s most usually piled on top of barbequed meat and often served with bread.

Fish Sauce

The gaggiest of all condiments, fish sauce is a staple in many Southeast Asian dishes, such as Cambodia’s delicious Amok. Disgusting a smell as it may be, it somehow becomes a magic ingredient when used in the right combinations.

When I have a bad day at work, I just imagine what it would be like to work in a place that makes this stuff, which is largely comprised of fermented anchovies or sardines.

Tzatziki

Most often used on gyros, Tzatziki is a condiment (arguably a dip) that combines puréed cucumber and strained yoghurt with garlic, salt, olive oil & pepper. The whole thing looks a bit like what oozes out of a zombie’s brain after it has been cracked with an axe.

Sriracha Sauce

Nobody seems to know what the original purpose of Sriracha sauce was but it’s now turned into as catch-all as catsup. Often used as a condiment with seafood, it’s also been used as a topping for everything from sushi to pizza. Chili peppers give it the whallop that it’s known for. Also known as Rooster Sauce, which comes from the logo on the bottle.

Vegemite

The inclusion of this condiment is simply to placate the Australians (and hangers on) who worship this paste made from yeast extract. Brits will also go on about their similarly-created marmite. With over 20 million bottles made just by Kraft each year, there’s no escaping its popularity. Some even say that it’s a great hangover cure.

Chimichurri

Chimichurri is a popular sauce from Argentina and Uruguay, often used as a marinade for meat. Most people make the Homer Simpson Drooling Sound when it’s mentioned. Key ingredients include chopped parsley, minced garlic, oil, vinegar and red pepper flakes.

HP Sauce/Brown Sauce

While some Americans have a taste for steak sauce, most across the pond are consumed by it. What’s the magical combination that makes it so popular? How about malt vinegar blended with fruit and spices (HP) or meat stock mixed with flour (Brown Sauce)…

Harissa

Harissa is a hot chilli sauce made from crushed piri piri chillies, tomatoes and Paprika. This North African creation is even sometimes served alone as an appetizer, especially in Tunisia, where it is present at every meal.

Kochujang (Gochujang)

This is a must for the Korean kitchen. Gochujang looks a bit like high-end ketchup but tastes quite different because of its ingredients – chili peppers, glutinous rice powder, fermented soybeans and red peppers. It’s almost holy when combined with Bibimbap (a dish made of rice, vegetables and sliced meat). Not suggested as a condiment when eating live animals, though.

Hoisin Sauce

More of a dipping sauce than a condiment, this sweet, soy-based liquid does not contain fish despite the fact that it literally translates to English as “seafood”. It’s often served with spring rolls or pork.

Mayonnaise

I was going to exclude this but then thought of the outcry that would come from Europeans, who take mayo to new levels of obsession. Also, any opportunity to show a picture of one of travel’s guilty pleasures (french fries, chips, frites, whatever-the-F) is a good one.

This is probably as good a place as any to also list Salsa Golf, a South American goop that is a simple combination of mayo and ketchup, usually slopped on potatoes.

Tahini

Tahini is a Middle Eastern topping often used in pitas. The key ingredient is sesame seed paste, which gives it a taste unlike any other. With nothing particularly spicy about it, it often even outs even the hottest stuffed pocket.

Shichimi

This seven flavor chili pepper powder is a staple in Japan and is often added to soups and noodle dishes, although sushi chefs have recently taken to it as well. Its unique taste comes from the addition of other elements, often including mandarin peel, poppy seed, sesame and nori.

Heinz Ketchup

It is not until you’ve had another country’s watery, tomato-tasting sludge that you begin to appreciate the fructose-infused ketchup that Heinz makes. Spend a month in Russia or Laos and you’ll be surprised just how much you miss it.

Man! That is one great comprehensive list made to make your mouth water! Especially appreciate the inclusion of HP sauce (the most slept on of all condiments) and Marmite (the taste of home but borderline for condiment classification). One possible addition – if tahini is in there than hummus has to make the list – don’t sleep!!

Andrew

Marmite is from New Zealand!!!

http://www.sierrasurvey.com/davidtpage David Page

Yeehaw! Now what we need is a catalog of recipes wherein the author demonstrates how these condiments can be mixed in varying combinations to provide flavor and sustenance to the serious traveler without the need to spend precious travel resources on actual foodstuffs!

http://saberkite.blogspot.com Kat

I love fish sauce, especially if it’s paired with green mangoes. Mmmm. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. It’s also pretty good with rice hehe.

I’m pretty sure single ingredient stuff naturally found in oceans and mines would be called a mineral. Condiment? Not so much.

Kathy

In spite of the zombie brain reference, my mouth is watering! Plus I learned a lot.

http://www.all-about-guatemala.com/bc Benjamin Barnett

We just stopped at the local store here in Guatemala City to pick up some Heinz ketchup – the local brand is waayy too sweet and Heinz is just like we Texans like it. Good article.

Suzi Roo

I wholeheartedly agree with the last- Ketchup. I’ve been in Colombia for over six months now and I miss the ketchup. Most versions here are gelatinous, translucent neon-red, with a few red flakes. Yuck.

Eva Sandoval

Fantastic post – I couldn’t stop reading it!

Ege Gun

tzatziki is totally turkish and it is called cacık!

http://wheretherebedragons.com Tim Patterson

I thought it was Macedonian.

http://alexhomar.blogspot.com Alexander

BTW. It’s Uruguay NOT Uraguay.
Check Wikipedia at least before post a note

Thanks. Sorry we overlooked that, but we can’t run every word through Wikipedia. Spellcheck works pretty well, usually.

http://waywardlife.posterous.com/ Tom Gates

Sorry about that. You’re right, of course!

joshua johnson

holdin it down for Siracha!! I love it on eggs, in soup, mac&cheese…on open wounds!

Tom, hmoe run my man…good thing i have a fridge full of condiments

Tom on Isla

Where I live in Mexico, and the locals laugh at Cholula as much as they laugh at Corona…they can’t figure out why gringos would waste their time on them. But then, where I live, no self-respecting restaurateur would serve anything other than their own home-made habanero sauce. Cholula is for Americans who actually think they’re getting something authentic to douse on their Enchilada/Burrito/Chimichanga combo platter with yellow rice and refried beans.

http://www.sierrasurvey.com/davidtpage David Page

Well Tom On Isla… ain’t no fun to be laughed at by the locals (or the jaded expats), or to have your preferred condiment (read: best easily procured at Von’s in Mammoth Lakes, CA) compared to that swill they call Corona… What specifically do you recommend we try to get hold of for our eggs up here north of the line? Let us know. I’m ready to hold auditions for a new pepper sauce!

http://www.sierrasurvey.com/davidtpage David Page

or even better: any chance you could sneak us a recipe for said home-made habanero sauce? I can get the habaneros…

http://www.algarveexperiences.com Gwen McCauley

Thanks for the reminder about Ajvar. A colleague from Georgia gave me some a couple of years ago and it was heavenly. I never really knew what it was called. Now I can search for a recipe!

I’ve tried many of these condiments. About the only one that seriously does me in is Vegemite! That is a seriously deranged taste according to my palate!!

Perhaps not a fore-runner, but I’d also add Piri-Piri, that mixture of peppers, vinegar and oil the Portuguese so love to your list. I love the variety of tastes & textures to be found by buying home-made Piri-Piri at local food markets throughout the Algarve.

Great romp through the tastes of the world. I’m going to send this link to all of my foodie friends!

Gwen McCauley

Hanza

what about sweet thai chili sauce? surely that deserves a spot on this list…

If you’ve ever been to Utah or possibly a near-by arctic circle restaurant you might have been lucky enough to encounter fry-sauce, possibly Utah’s only contribution to world cuisine. It’s a mix of equal parts ketchup and mayonnaise with usually one other “secret ingredient” which I’m not at liberty to discuss. But if you can’t decide what to put on fried potatoes it’s the perfect combination of East meets West. I’ve included a website where you can order it: “Some Dude’s Fry Sauce” But I don’t work for them or anything.

http://matadornights.com Kate

A rose by any other name would not be Uruguay!

http://www.expatheather.com Heather Carreiro

Another one I’ve come to love is mint raita in Pakistan and India.

http://www.deathbychildren.com Chris Garlington

For a divine french frie dipping experience, mix the cholula with mayo. Serious.

Debbie

Actually, tahini (also called tahina) IS sesame paste. The product you have pictured is hummus, a mixture of chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.

JigCricket

Two suggestions, one from The South (I suppose I should clarify, the U.S. South), and one from Mexico.
Chow Chow can be strikingly great on bland items.
And I’ve always preferred Valentina’s to Cholula’s (we used to it it on chichorinos, sp?, in Mexico.
Oh, and look to Korean food for some extra condiments that make normal dishes a bit nutty.

Emmanuel

Nice summation except for the last bit about Heinz ketchup. Try the Heinz they sell in Canada, where it’s still made from sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. The difference in taste is dramatic and I have yet to find anyone who prefers the American version after trying this. If only they would go back to the old style here.

Lindaloo

Brown sauce is the same as HP (HP is a brand name)… a sauce made with meat juices is completely different as is just called gravy on the UK

Marmite is NOT from New Zealand and is the equivalent to vegemite and also came before vegemite! its similar in taste but not quite the same but is definietly a UK product. Though there are countries which are allowed to make Marmite and call it that but the recipe is not the same nor as good as the UK orginial… sorry bit of a Marmite nerd! ;o)

Awesome post! I can’t wait to try everything I haven’t tasted on this list. Sometimes I get so stuck on the old favorites I forget how many different condiments are out there in the world, thanks for the reminder!

Nice article; sriracha is a personal favorite, and I was delighted when a coworker of mine gave me his large bottle (which he bought in the States) before leaving Seoul.

Related to Chris’ comment about mixing cholula with mayo, I like to mix sriracha with mayo as a dipping sauce for tuna cakes.

Also, when I was on a roadtrip to Jirisan a few weekends ago, we stopped at a rest stop and had roasted cuttlefish with a small container of gochujang for dipping, which turned out to be a tasty pairing.

http://yaramaz.livejournal.com maryanne

Cacik, haydari, tzatziki and the forty million other versions of garlic/cucumber/mint infused yogurt are neither Greek nor Turkish nor Balkan exclusively– I’d say (from personal tasting experience and 6 years living in Levantine lands) that it’s a general Mediterranean concept. I will admit that my preference is for a really thick, garlicky Turkish haydari (cacik is the cold, soupier version)

Katz

Awesome – entertaining – enlightening and made me hungry all at once. Great writing! Great topic!

http://somethingsofsomewhereelse@blogspot.com Trish

Ohhh lordy craving vegemite on toast now. I wish it was breakfast.

Love this list, I’m hoping to spread/dip/mop my way through the ones I haven’t tried already.

Missa

Nutella?

http://tripbase.com/blog ricki@tripbase

So glad to see Heinz (their “makes food ketchuppy to various degrees” commercial won me over once and for all). But what about amba?

Helen

Oh my god Lizano! The best thing ever, goes with everything!
I lugged a 1ltre bottle all the way from Costa Rica the whole way up through Central America and California and home to Ireland in my backpack.
So worth it!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsp100677/ Gsp

Same here in the UK – Heinz Tomato Ketchup ( He saved the big daddy for last ) has nothing artificial in it – just tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, spices, herbs, and celery extract. I can’t imagine it any other way…putting fructose in sounds like a travesty.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsp100677/ Gsp

I just noticed…Mustard is missing from this list!

That’s on that’s gotta be up there, close to ketchup as a staple condiment in many countries – whether it’s the mild, sqeezy bottle stuff Americans put on hotdogs, or the super strong and sharp, mouthwatering (& eyes and nose watering) English Mustard, or the French classic Dijon – surely this is an accidentally careless omission?

Anaximander

No it’s not……………..

The Marmite Food Extract Company was formed in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England, in 1902,
The Sanitarium Health Food Company obtained sole rights to distribute the product in New Zealand and Australia in 1908.[

ric

Come to South Africa (that’s a country for the Americans) and try All Gold ketchup (we call it tomato sauce). It puts Heinz to shame.

You can add or subtract stuff to your taste. I like mine super sweet. Don’t forget to wear gloves while making this! I woke up the next morning with finger-shaped red marks ad hand prints on my body from the oils on my hands… which was interesting…

Tim E

I imagine that Cholula is laughed by Mexicans mostly because it’s not marketed to them anymore. It’s only been available in the US for twelve years, but it was around a few decades longer than that in Mexico. I think some large corporation picked them up and started distributing them to the US (in fact, Jose Cuervo owns the company now, hence the gringo distinction).

But that doesn’t mean it’s not good stuff. I prefer it because it’s more chili than vinegar. I tend to buy Tapatio (which is actually made in California, unlike Cholula, which is made in Mexico), because it’s cheaper.

I do agree that any self-respecting cook (with time on his or her hands) should make their own chili sauce. But it’s a tad labor intensive. Breaking up, seeding, toasting, and processing chili pods takes a lot of time. Which is why I’m happy that there are commercially available sources of good chili sauce flavor so readily available up here in gringoland.

http://ClashoftheQueues.wordpress.com JoeViturbo

All of these sounded like good entries that I can’t really raise any complaint over. I’ve tried many of these and am looking forward to trying more. A note on Fish Sauce: this stuff is awesome and when mixed into dishes you often can’t taste it at all but it adds so much flavor.

The condiment that I crave is something called Go’uat Saw (my own phonetic spelling). It’s Hmong and is some of the spiciest stuff I’ve ever tasted. But, it’s also very flavorful. I’m not sure of the exact ingredients but I’m pretty sure it has chili peppers and fish sauce. It’s been a long time since I’ve had it and I dearly miss the taste. I’m not complaining that it wasn’t on the list, it’s probably not very widespread or well known

http://www.bobbinis-kitchen.com bobbinis-kitchen.com

Nice overview over condiments!
Thank you

http://oasisluxuryrentals.com Allison

honestly, Lizano is the best condiment on the whole list. I brought a backpack of it back from costa rica to give out as presents to friends and family, but ended up keeping half for myself. on scrambled eggs, on meat, on EVERYTHING!

Charly

I LOVE ME SOME COCK SAUCE (sriracha). I literally use it on everything…hashbrowns, noodles, burgers, burritos, tortas, sushi, seafood, cereal….well maybe not the last one.

amellia

pebre looks like the stuff you slap on baguettes to make bruschetta(yum). and totally agree with you about fish sauce. smells quite bad but its heaven in a simple clear fish soup!

Meh. All of the interesting condiments have their origins in the Americas. All peppers originate from the Americas. They may be cultivated elsewhere, but they originate in the Americas. And tomatoes too.

Ryan

I need to clarify the information on HP sauce. HP is a brand of brown sauce, what you described as ‘brown sauce’ (meat juices and flour) is gravy which we would have with our sunday roast.

Brown sauce is the malt vinegar based condiment (like your A1) and comes in different brands, HP being the most popular. Trivia fact: HP stands for Houses of Parliament which features on the label of the bottle.

Jenni

Ha, “chutney”. I like how specific you were there…not.

willhrusth

Heinz Ketchup is with out a doubt the worlds finest! Happily I have a ready supply at hand !!

Bill
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Derrick

I love all these condiments, but I think you meant Hummus, tahini is sesame seed butter that is used in hummus

Dan

I lived in Chile for years, and I LOVED pebre. Man…now I am having a serious hankering!

Patrick

Ajvar! It’s delicious. But best when it’s home made. There are many jarred versions out there, but none is as good as the home made stuff which has dairy like texture. The spicy (ljuti is the word on the label if it comes from former Yugoslavia) is the best if you go with the jarred stuff.

Sriracha – if I could, I’d have a tap on my kitchen sink for it.

Heinz? Ick. It’s not good ketchup. In Europe there are MANY great ketchup brands. In Serbia, you can buy “ljiti” (remember that word from the ajvar??) ketchup which is many time better than sugary Heinz.

Tabasco McSauce

No Tabasco Sauce?

Terrible..

steve

Fish sauce smells very weird, but in Vietnamese dishes, like vermicelli bowls, its quite nice. Also a nice dip for summer rolls.

After going to Germany, my friend suggested I try currywurst for a quick, cheap snack. It seemed like nothing new at the time (sausage, ketchup, and a roll) but that extra addition of curry powder and paprika with the right wurst makes for one of the best treats I have ever had.

ray

thank you Derrick. Tahini comes in a sweet or bitter paste and is a relatively small ingredient in hummus.

Penny

Piccalilli should SO be on that list… it’s fabulous! I have it on EVERYTHING.

Oh and mint sauce – I can’t eat savoury pies without it.

Katharine

I’m with Derrick; Tahini is a sesame seed paste that falafel are often dipped in. It’s a tasty condiment, as well, but it’s not the same as hummus. The picture you have there is DEFINITELY hummus, which is made of chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and sometimes a pepper puree.

http://www.2buyitnow.com tommy

no Grey Poupon or Frenches yellow mustard?

Helen

Your picture for pebre is definitely pico de gallo.

Steve

HP does indeed stand for Houses of Parliament, not just because it features on the bottle either. HP sauce was created specifically for the members of the Houses of Parliament many years ago, and it tastes fantastic on a bacon sandwich.

adam

Daves insanity sauce.

Keiran

I’d like to see you be specific about chutney since theres so many different types…Maybe you should think before being a dick.

what? no mention of branston pickle? nothing like it with a bit of cheese on a nice bread!!!!

erik post

Hey dude!
Awesome page!
Love the condiments…
But your picture of Pebre is defenitly the Mexican Pico de Gallo.
Maybe they are the same, I woulnd´t be sure about that but I do know my pico de gallo!

Ciao,

Serena

Great list but do you think instead of tahini you meant hummus? Tahini is 100% sesame seed paste and hummus is made with chickpeas and tahini.

Serena

Oops my bad, saw you commented on that already. You may delete my comments as superfluous.

ljk

what about pickle relish ,pico de gallo, horseradish and yes as others said mustard

John

Vegemite, (like peanut butter), is NOT a condiment, it is a spread.

bivouac

Very interesting list. Under mayo, you mention a combo of mayo and ketchup from South America called “Salsa Golf”. That is really weird, because I’ve never heard of it, but I certainly use it all the time- it’s called fry sauce. It’s very popular in the midwest, but it’s sold throughout the states by that name. It’s become an essential fried potato condiment since I’ve moved to Utah. When my husband and I were in Paris, strapped for cash, we ate at a McDonalds for lunch one day (man, I feel guilty just typing that). At any rate, they had packages labeled “fry sauce”, but they were simply mayo, instead of what we’ve come to know as fry sauce. I mixed it with ketchup at the restaurant, because you really would be surprised how well those two ingredients work with french fries.

So, yeah, that was my aimless condiment anecdote. Hope you enjoyed.

Alessa

What you call “Salsa Golf” We Utahans know as “Fry Sauce” and most Utahans smother their burgers and fries with the slop

The first one is not aJvar, it’s AIVAR. Also, there is another variant on it, which is more popular in the Balkans, especially Bulgaria – Lyutenitza. Lovely.

Scarlet

That is definitely Pebre lol Pico de Gallo might look like Pebre, but the one in the picture is in a posillo de greda which is a typical Chilean way of serving it.

Neilaso

Lizano is the bombbbbbb!!!!!

Osvaldo

With surprise I see my humble pebre in the list.
But you forgot to name the principal ingridient of the recepie : tomatos.

We usually eat the pebre with a big spicy sausage (chorizo) in a bred named “marraqueta”.

Regards,

Osvaldo

Chile.

Foodgirl

Here in America “steak sauce” is known as BBQ sauce – and any American will tell you that they (either personally, or through a distant relative) invented the stuff. There are BBQ cult followings in the south that boarder on the religious. American BBQ sauce recipes are better guarded then some of our state secrets. My southern great-grandma has included our family recipe in her WILL for goodness sake.

I think we deserve a little more than an honorable mention: “having a taste for it.” I mean, really.

Love this list!! Thanks for all the info… Time to hit up trader Joe’s!!

Patrick Hitches

http://www.millenionltd.com/ Millenion

i don’t know why but reading this made me very hungry…

Paula

HP sauce…..amazing stuff! Love it on bacon sarnies, runny fried eggs, mince and tatties (that’s the Scottish coming out in me!) and just about anything else!

I have to comment on the Vegemite/Marmite situation.
I was born and raised in Scotland but now live in Australia.
Marmite is fantastic stuff, love it on hot buttered toast. Vegemite, however, tastes nothing whatsoever like Marmite. Personally I can’t stand the stuff, I think it tastes nasty!

I have to agree with John though, Vegemite, along with Marmite, is a spread, not a condiment.

Suzie urban

I love my Tobasco on everything

Lockbane

What a great list! You certainly chose a great condiment when including Salsa Lizano. I’m a proud Costa Rican and I can’t live without it! It’s delicious on green mango, on our typical gallo pinto, on steak, on fried eggs, on canned tuna, you name it… It heard that the national variety derives from Worcestershire sauce, becoming thicker, of a light brown color, flavorful from all the pureed veggies and a little less pungent or spicy.

I know other people call Golf sauce “Thousand Island Dressing”, although the most proper sort might have some other ingredients in it besides ketchup and mayonnaise. Costa Ricans call it simply “Salsa Rosada” (Pink sauce).

nick

no tobasco? eff off….

Acrobat

I am an Aussie and I would have been happy had you left Vegemite off, the stuff tastes like ass crack on toast, the English Marmite is a smidge better…

HP sauce FTW!

Richard

No Colmans English Mustard?

Always funny to give a generous serving to those used to American Burger Mustard or Dijon and watch their head explode as its heat hits the top of the nose.

Also HP on mashed (creamed?) potatos, divine!

http://jovianchiron.wordpress.com jove

rooster sauce? there are some that prefer to call it cock sauce, no pun intended.

TOMTOM

Perhaps, because of your reluctance to add mayonnaise to this list you could replace it with Aioli (or at least mention it). A french condiment similar to mayo but with lemon and garlic as well as other additions.

Aioli is in my humble opinion the best thing in the universe to pair with french fries, especially big thick ones. It also goes great in a sandwich or in a salad and tastes beautiful with fish.

Sunga

Pebre is the best in the world please google a recipe and give it a try you won’t regret…

Arriba Chile

http://errign.wordpress.com Errign

Isn’t tahini the sesame seed paste that is part of hummus?

tahinibikini

Tahini is sesame paste and is also a sauce made mainly from sesame paste. Tahini (sauce) is tahini (paste) plus water, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley. And yes, it is used to make hummus, but is commonly used alone as a condiment or dip.

styubud

tahini is the most addictive beautiful garlicky taste in the world! Not so good for your love life however (unless you’re weird)

http://www.120mmfan.net Sarah Clark

I love to taste some greek foods because they are very spicy.;;,

Michael

No doubt about it!!:) “AJVAR and white cheese”…the must haves in the future
“Noah’s arks”

Jane

I think that the Ajvar is not actually a greek common condiment. It is very rarely consumed in Greece.
It is massively used,consumed and home prepared in Macedonia,some in Serbia and maybe in Bulgaria.
Anyway very delicious stuff!!

Kim

Indeed. The picture there is of hummus/hommous, and tahini is a very minor ingredient by volume.

hz

worcestorshire sauce!!!

Travels4Food

Kecap Manis might be the only condiment missing – it’s a Malaysian sweet soy sauce that’s delicious on almost anything. Thanks for this great list!

The comment string is so long, don’t know if anyone has mentioned yet that fish sauce is so repulsively fragrant, that like durian it is actually banned in carry-on in some SE Asian airlines.

Kata

Also mojo picón!!! it’s from the Canary Islands but you can get it around Spain. Amazing with meat, fries, whatever!

a.g.c.

great list there; will be looking out for some of these in future! ^^

was hoping to see sambal belacan though.. too bad n_n”;

….even as the comment above’s suggestion of kecap manis makes my mouth water (ah, i’m late for lunch. indomee!) — malaysian/indonesian? i’m not sure of the origins, but it .is. good stuff. XD

kay

you should have put the image below each condiment instead of above. it confuses me to see whether that image depicts salsa lizano or chutney… and yea, try Indonesian kecap or sambal now!

Sparrow

AJVAR is the most delicious condiment and a must in every home in Macedonia. Can be served as a side dish (all over the world), while in Macedonia is also main meal, spread on sliced bread and accompanied with feta cheese, olives, and/or salami. Visit the country in September and October and see the process of creating home made Ajvar;it takes 2-3 days of intensive laboring to prepare about 20-30 kilos of it. Why people make so much Ajvar? So they can enjoy it over the winter season and well into spring next year. S-W-E-E-T!

Michael

Oh,I love the Ajvar which is made in Macedonia!
Almost every house in Macedonia is making some of it before the autumn starts and the whole country smells on Ajvar in that period which I’ve found quite peculiar while I was travelling through the villages of Macedonia with my wife.
Combined with warm bread from a village bakery,garlic and white cheese made of sheep’s or especially goat’s milk its one hell of a gastronomically orgasmic feeling. One of a kind!

Fred

Miss ketchup? I can’t even remember the last time I ate ketchup. I ran into a Brit recently in San Diego who was complaining they didn’t have any brown sauce for his eggs during breakfast, and was gobsmacked when the waiter brought me HP when I asked for steak sauce – I was just as surprised, as I’d expected A-1.

I got to experience the Brit’s lament when I was told they only had HP, and now the other gentleman knew what to ask for when he wanted something for his eggs in the morning. I told him if he thought HP was the stuff, he really needed to get a hold of some A-1 before he left. What’s the difference, he asked? I said A-1 was spicier with more raisin and orange peel. Couldn’t believe the place didn’t have any, I can’t think of a hotel restaurant within two hundred miles of me here that would be caught dead without a single thing of A-1 in the place. I am not a shill for A-1, it was my go-to condiment as a kid though.

Still, A-1’s really only for steak and fries, whereas sriracha is the new ketchup, and tzatziki is king. Mayo is still as boring and gross as it always has been, and how can you mention tahini without saying anything about hummus? A friend once fed me some chutney more sour and bitter than a car’s battery fluid, I still can’t say if I liked it or not. What I really want to know is how to make that pork chile a local place serves, if you’ve got a tamale there’s nothing in the world better to dip it in.

Angie

I love AJVAR also, I always buy some when I go to Macedonia, and it’s best if you can taste some home made. AJVAR and white cheese-the best combination in the world!!!:))

Michael

No doubt about it!!:) “AJVAR and white cheese”…the must haves in the future
“Noah’s arks”

Avakaaya has to be on this list. It is relished by at least 70 million people in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India, and is exported worldwide. Avakaaya lovers are always stuck at the airport trying to convince the bag checkers that the vacuum sealed bag of spicy red mustardy pickled mango in their luggage is not an illegal import of afood product, but, rather their “afternoon snack”.

Hey, what about soy sauce? It’s one condiment I use regularly here in NY and so do my folks in the old country of France. They love to dress their just-picked-from-the-garden steamed Haricots verts and other green vegetables with a mix of soy sauce, crème fraiche & lemon juice. Also over tuna cooked very rare it’s a mix of grated fresh ginger, crème fraiche and soy sauce.

Barbara Armo

Ajvar–get it at Trader Joe’s. My husband buys Siracha by the case. Some of us call THAT Cock Sauce (not Rooster)—catchier and easier to say. If you want to actually prepare a condiment, try mixing soy sauce with melted butter. You won’t regret it. In the end, it’s what you’re used to, and what you prefer. There is no law against liking what you like, even Corona. Remember your first taste of fresh ginger or fresh cilantro? A shock to the palate for sure.

Debbie McKibben

Reading the descriptions of the condiments made my mouth water. lol

Shawn Chong

Cock Sauce does not make my mouth water… but, gonna try that soy sauce with melted butter, for sure.